Since the development and subsequently the commercial availability of Boston Dynamics’ robotic dog, Spot, the question has been” “what can it really can do?” Well, today (or more correctly, February 13) the question has been answered by maker extraordinaire/TV personality Adam Savage.
His answer? As a rickshaw hauler. Or Rickshaw (Robotic) Dog, if you will. Spot hauling a rickshaw with Adam on it was just half of what’s interesting about this project. The other half was the rickshaw itself.
It was crafted by the man himself and we are loving it because, it is steampunk-ish and oozes with Victoria flair. Man, that rickshaw absolutely rocks and Spot did a good job in hauling his human overlord along.
It even managed a gentle incline.. well, after some tweaks to the software by a couple of software engineers from Boston Dynamics and Tested.com. Tested.com on YouTube is, btw, now known as Adam Savage’s Tested.
The rickshaw was a lovely creation and so was the hitch, and Spot. Now, all it needs to be done is to give Spot real AI and also the ability to accept voice commands as opposed to being commandeered by a remote controller.
Skip ahead for this wonderful video. We promise it will be worth 30 minutes of your life, well… that’s if you are as much of a geek as us.
Images: Tested.com.
